Musical Adventures

William Control

I’m going to go ahead and say it… I was a casual Ghost fan. Yes, that’s right, I had heard them on the radio, and really loved what I heard, but I never took the initiative to look into them more. As a single mom, it’s too easy to get complacent with my music, know I like a song by a band and then just keep listening to that one song and every other song that I’ve listened to for years. And despite the legal issues Papa Emeritus III fairly recently faced, I felt the need to go see them when I found out they were touring. Luckily, I scored a $20 ticket during the Live Nation sale, and did take the time to listen to them here and there, including the entire hour and a half drive to the show.

Let me give you some advice… if you are going to see a show in Indianapolis, plan to be there at least an hour before the doors open, because finding parking is a major pain. However, I was super pleased with the venue, Old National Centre. There were metal detectors at the doors, but they got everyone through quickly, and all of the staff were super nice and helpful, which I appreciate very much. The show itself was in the Egyptian Room, which was standing room only, aside from the VIP seating on either side, with the soundboard in the center of the decently sized room.

I missed just a bit of the opening band, Royal Thunder. But I’m glad I didn’t miss all of their set, because they were fantastic! Mlny Parsonz has a voice that takes absolute control and is a strong presence in and of itself. Her vocals are like a mix of Janis Joplin, Joan Jett, and Blackie Lawless. If you haven’t heard them yet, I highly recommend you check them out.

My only complaint with Ghost was how long it took them to come out. We stood for what felt like ages listening to “Satanic Hymns to Fall Asleep to” but once they did come out, there was no stopping the excitement and energy. Every one of those Nameless Ghouls had so much energy and personality, even with their faces hidden. The guitarists and bassist were all over the stage, playing to the crowd, and just absolutely killing every note in cold blooded metal perfection.

I tried to compare Papa Emeritus III with David Draiman when explaining his stage presence to a friend, but that’s almost an insult if you don’t explain that Papa Emeritus has way more personality and charm than David Draiman. And that’s not to say that I don’t like David Draiman, because quite the opposite is actually true. But when I saw Disturbed, while their light show and pyrotechnics were impressive, Draiman didn’t really do much besides walk back and forth across the stage while he sang. You never found Papa Emeritus dancing like you would William Control or Rob Zombie, but he covered every inch of the stage and really did reach out and interact with the crowd and with his Nameless Ghouls.

Their first song was to a black background, with lots of smoke and lights, and Papa came out in what can only be described as an Anti-Pope outfit. The second song had the black curtain dropped, and we were instantly transported to a Satanic church with stained glass windows depicting the images of Lucifer himself, as well as Baphomet and a female whose name I will edit in here once I figure out who she was supposed to be.

Everything about their show was phenomenal. Visually everything was just stunning, from the lights to the background to the insane energy that the crowd just soaked up and sent straight back. Papa Emeritus III was funny and charming and maybe a little explicit, much to everyone’s delight. Even if you didn’t know the songs, you couldn’t help but get hyped and jump and clap.

Next time Ghost comes around, I’m going to try to get VIP tickets so I can meet these guys. And I will without a doubt not miss them on their next tour, because these guys are very much worth it to go see live.

I have three main Pandora stations that I listen to, and of course my William Control station is one of them. I first heard this song on there, and that was when I discovered that this song gives me lead foot. I never love to listen to this song as much as when I’m cruising down the interstate with the radio turned way up and either fast moving traffic or empty roads.

Recently I went to an Andy Black concert. Now, I don’t know any of Andy Black’s music past Knives and Pens and The Mortician’s Daughter from his Black Veil Brides days. I had honestly just gone to see William Control. But one thing Andy Black did all kinds of right was playing a cover of this song, because immediately it got me moving and singing.

I wasn’t always into 80’s music. My mom loved it, and I didn’t want to like anything my mom liked so I rejected it. It wasn’t until a boyfriend liked 80’s music that I started to get into it. And once I started there was no stopping me. I have a lot of love for Billy Idol, and especially this song. I can’t hear this song without moving in some way, from a toe tap to full on dance mode. A friend in high school actually introduced me to Billy Idol, and I have fond memories of listening to his music in gym class with her.

It’s been awhile, but I finally got some live music back in my life. And who better than to bring it back than Mr. William Control? Especially since his new album, part 2 of a 4 part EP project he’s calling Revelations, was just dropped. Following the Pale EP, the Black EP comes to us with 1 music video already released and a new song from the album introduced at his headliner show in Cleveland at The Agora Ballroom and Theatre.

Cleveland is not a fun drive for me. And I really overestimated the traffic and ended up 2 hours before they were letting the VIPs into the venue, which was an hour before regular doors. VIP was the usual warm welcome that I’ve come to know from Wil, and my poster was vandalized by Kenneth, which was not an unwelcome thing. Sometimes you need things in your life that you didn’t know you’d need, like a poster of William Control with crudely drawn glasses and the word “nerd” in silver Sharpie.

First band was local to Cleveland, a duo called Toxic Waters. Highlight of the set; His rendition of John Legend’s “All of Me” that he dedicated to his girlfriend. Second band was also local, called Minimal Concern. I actually met the bassist’s mom while in line to get into the venue. Both bands were good, and I went and liked their Facebook pages so I can keep track of them. I really love going to shows where local bands are playing and finding that they have great energy. Too often local bands just don’t put themselves into their live performances, and that’s a shame.

After the local bands was a group called Master T.C. and the Visitors. These guys come out all in black, one in face paint, some with bowler hats with goggles. A guitarist was wearing the ultimate frilly Gothic Victorian shirt. Needless to say, some assumptions were made on what I was going to hear. It’s true what they say about not jumping to conclusion, though, because what I heard was NOTHING like I was expecting. Which was at first surprising and caught me off guard, then finally I warmed up to it. Not my usual style of music, but I very much enjoyed myself.

All the Gothic Victorian Frilly goodness

Then we had Palaye Royale. Now, I had heard of these lovely guys before, but never took the time to look into their music. There was a high number of 13 year olds who had come to the show specifically for them, so it’s not surprising that I hadn’t checked them out yet, but I’m glad I did finally get to hear them, because they were fantastic. High energy, interactive, and the lead singer took his fucking pants and shirt off and sang in his underwear. An unexpected move, but one that I can honestly respect in a way. It takes a lot of confidence and guts to sing in front of people, especially a crowd of people. It takes a little more guts to sing in your underwear under the same circumstances, at least in my opinion.

And finally, we came to William Control. If he is anything, William Control is consistent in the quality of his shows. I really cannot recommend more highly that you guys go see him live if you never have before. And his tickets and more often than not very decently priced, even VIP. The one thing that surprised me, though, was that he did not come out after his set to see people at the merch table. However, it’s understandable since they needed to get on the road.

Sass Master

The next night had me in Cincinnati, where traffic was surprisingly worse than Cleveland. I got in just after Palaye Royale had started playing and wormed my way up as far as I could. They didn’t take their pants off, but after meeting them after the show I found out that was only because they couldn’t their shoes off. Forgivable. Knowing a little more of their music than I had the night before, it was nice to be able to sing along to some of their songs. They’re really sweet guys, and I appreciate that in someone who clearly has a lot of young people looking up to them.

William was up after, and being on an even bigger stage had him swinging his mic more than usual, which is always impressive to watch.While it’s understandable that majority of the people in Cincinnati were there for Andy Black, the crowd was still very receptive to Wil, and he fed off our energy.

A quick tip from yours truly: If you go to a show, try to actually fucking enjoy yourself. Because I’ve seen it too many times where the crowd isn’t necessarily familiar with the band and so just stands there and doesn’t interact. And that’s pathetic. You’re there to see a show. if they’re putting on a good show, you should be reacting accordingly.

And then Andy Black took the stage. And the crowd went wild. Fun fact that I learned that very night: Cincinnati and Andy Black’s hometown. He played Battle of the Bands in high school right there at Bogart’s. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Andy, as I haven’t listened to his music since I heard Knives and Pens by Black Veil Brides, but he put on a great show and was very entertaining. And he played Dancing With myself by Billy Idol, so that earned major props from me.

It was nice seeing Wil play with Andy Black, but I’m itching to see him do a real, full headlining tour. Who would you like to see Wil bring along on a tour?

If you’ve been into the music scene at all, you’re probably familiar with the concept of street teams. If you’re not, the easiest definition is a group of fans worldwide who spread the good word about their favorite musical artists. And one of my favorite musicians (as if you couldn’t already tell considering he takes up the majority of content on my blog so far) has issued a call to arms for his fans.

Yes, that’s right folks. Mr. William Control himself is calling together a street team of massive proportions, his devoted fans working hard to reach one goal: “create as much publicity and gain as much exposure as possible for the work of William Control”.

Following the release of his newest album, The Pale EP, as well as the third installment in his tantalizing Revelator trilogy, William seems intent on taking over the music scene. The first we’ll be seeing of him in 2017 will be on tour with Andy Black, and it’s safe to say that with the street team, we’re looking to pack those houses fuller than they’ve ever been.

If you’re anything like me and all the others on the street team, there’s something about William’s music that speaks to you in some way, be it in the beats or the words or something else entirely. And like any good thing, those feelings are meant to be shared. If you’d like to join the street team, shoot an email to streetteam@williamcontrol.com giving them your name and location. You’ll also, preferably, want to request to join The Neuromantic’s Facebook group, as I’ve linked it below. They’ll cross reference your name and location in your email with your name on Facebook before accepting you into the group. And from there the idea is to have weekly tasks that you can do to help, which could be something as simple as retweeting something or putting up posters in your city.

And, they’re especially looking for people in the following cities:USA
Seattle
San Francisco
LA
Phoenix
Denver
Salt Lake City
Chicago
Cleveland
Pittsburg
Boston
New York City
Washington DC
Atlanta
Tampa/Orlando
Dallas
Houston
San Antonio
Albuquerque

Hello darlings who I have neglected! I’m assuming you’ve fended for yourselves like the rabid animals you are and are not rotting carcasses on the floor of WordPress. Finally I’ve found the time and the will power to finish up where we are in the history of the only band I’ve seen multiple times.

When I last left you guys, I was pregnant in our story wearing 5-6 inch heels at a rock concert. Typical me, right? Well, I had the baby, found a boyfriend, and left the baby with my grandmother for a night to take the boyfriend to his first concert. Granted, he had never heard of William Control or Aiden before, but he’s always been surprisingly supportive of me and accepting of my musical obsessions (the man never listened to metal before me. I shall corrupt him one day).

So, in 2015, I was right back where I started in watching William Control on the same stage where I first saw him. Nostalgia is sweet and sometimes smells like downtown Indianapolis, in case you were wondering. We had on stage first Justin Symbol, who I had never heard of before. And my first impression was of a young Marilyn Manson, if not quite as extreme. But he was entertaining and threw fake money on everyone while singing into a microphone that looked like a giant cynical icicle. Seriously, guys, it’s been so long I don’t remember all the details, but I know there was a gimp mask and a leash and candy, so I’m gonna say it was a successful set for him. After the show I got to meet him and he was honestly so sweet and down to earth. And have you seen the panties he’s been selling in his merch shop lately? Any man who can model his brand on bodies of all sizes is a friend to me. I even bought his CD, which wasn’t bad, but it’s more of the kind of stuff I prefer to listen to live than to just listen to in the car. I’m weird like that.

Next there was a little band called Requiem, whose lead singer you might remember from a little band called I Am Ghost. They. Fucking. KILLED IT. Will always travels with such sweet people, and Steven Juliano was no different. At the end of the night, I wish I had bought a CD, but I got a poster and a candle instead. Sadly, Requiem is no more, and Juliano has decided to stop making music. but his musical contributions are still out there! Just waiting to be downloaded! I Am Ghost is also no more, and they are planning their final concert in California this year.

I have seen William Control one more time since then, and it was on his last tour with Aiden. Aiden was where I first learned about Will and first fell in love with his music. I remember first seeing the Die Romantic video on MTV. And actually hearing that song in person was…. phenomenal. The sense of camaraderie at all of his shows is so beautiful. I’ve yet to experience any judgement or any rudeness and have made so many wonderful friends.

We saw Aiden in 2015 as well just North of Lousiville, in a tiny town in Indiana. The bands that opened were local bands and they were both so talented. But, the first band was called Ventura and had a gorgeous female lead singer with a rockin’ body who wore a Harley Quinn latex getup and I’m pretty sure I fell in love with her.

The second band was called Uh Huh Baby Yeah, and for awhile we were pretty sure he was stuck where he had climbed up on top of the bathrooms (the bathroom was a little room that looked like it had been added last minute with a ceiling lower than the ceiling of the building). One of the guys in the band looked like the essence of the band The Darkness. And all of them just kind of… jumped and rolled around on the floor and had way more energy than I think I’ve ever had in my life haha. But they were entertaining and the music was good. I personally did find them quite as personable, nor the first band. But, AshestoAngels had that characteristic sweetness that I’ve come to expect from anyone who tours with Will. Kissing Candice also made an appearance, but we’ve talked about them. I can’t stress enough how awesome they are live.

AshestoAngels fucking ROCKED the damn place! I had listened to their music on YouTube and so figured I knew a little of what to expect, but they were just so amazing in person! All the energy and the fun and the heart that they put into everything made the experience so amazing, and I regret not getting a picture with them. I’ll keep hoping they come back to the States soon.

And so that’s it, guys. For now, at least. The big question remains WHEN will I get to see Will tour again, because he’s given all his love to the UK lately due to shitty tour managers here in the States. Still waiting on that book drop for Revelator 3. But, pre-orders for the first of 4 EPs he’s releasing start TODAY! This is going to contain the fucking badass song The Monster that he released on YouTube for our listening pleasure, which I haven’t been able to get out of my head since it dropped. And with word of a movie for the Revelator books? Will’s a busy guy, it would seem. But, we’ll always be here waiting for his next move.

After the Emilie Autumn show, the next two times I saw William Control was as an opener for Combichrist. And, dear friends, if you ever get a chance to see Combichrist, for all that is unholy and vile, PLEASE TAKE THAT OPPORTUNITY. They were all super sweet, if a little (read: A LOT) mischievous. And their on stage energy was infectious. Both times I saw them they absolutely KILLED it.
So the first of these two shows was in Cleveland, The We Love Tour. I had commandeered a driver and headed up to Detroit the night before for the signing party that Sycamour threw, which I have written about before. We then drove down to Cleveland right after… But still too early for the hotel to let us pay for just one night. So we ended up sleeping in the car (myself quite pissed off and not able to fall asleep, so grudgingly curled up and glaring at the building) until they let us come in and pay for just a one night stay at around 7:00am.
But I digress! Opening for Combichrist that night we had a band I’d never heard of before called Kissing Candice. Bemasked men took the stage and impressed me more than I had expected to be impressed. These guys are fucking gold. And while no one moshed, because, sadly, I’ve found most people at shows won’t mosh unless they know the band and the music, they still had a fucking grand set. PLUS they’re big fans of Trollhunter, which is one of the best “B” movies in the horror genre, so if you haven’t seen that, get the fuck to it.

Next on stage we had New Years Day. The first time I saw them was at Warped Tour 2013, and I didn’t stick around long. I had tried to listen to them on my own, but I’m extremely picky about vocals and what I found just didn’t fit the bill. Well, by this time they had come out with some new material, and this time I was really liking what I heard. And seeing them on stage this time was a whole different ball game from Warped Tour. They were fantastic. And maybe it was just the different ambience of the whole thing, but I couldn’t have been happier with their set and their stage presence.

Myself, with Ash Costello

And now we get to William Control. I’m going to go ahead and say this now; I have NEVER been to a show where William Control was anything less than energetic and completely “present”. I have yet to see a half-assed William Control set. And, as a special treat for everyone there, the lead singer of New Years Day, Ash Costello, came out and assisted Will with a few songs, like Dorian Gray.

The green you see is what Nikki Misery from NYD spits on the crowd

Jump to the next show, The We Love Tour Part 2. I am, at the time of this show, 7 months pregnant with my daughter. I am also wearing 5-6 inch heels, because why not? The trip down to Louisville was a weekend trip, because the night before I was hitting up Slenderman: A Haunted Experience at Asylum Haunted Scream Park. It’s not exactly music related, but seriously guys, if you ever get a chance to go here, GO. There’s a documentary about the place called Monsters Wanted, and in the off season it’s a paintball complex. But I digress! The point of bringing up Asylum is that as one of the openers, a performer by the name of Shawna The Dead came up and did some neat tricks, like using an electric drill to securely put a screw up his nose. This is also the night that I watched a man get a dollar bill (okay, it was more than just $1, but I can’t remember what the amount of the bill was) stapled to his taint. Good times, folks.

My 7 months pregnant self with Combichrist

After that I can’t remember who played next, be it Davey Suicide or Darksiderz. Keep in mind my child is now almost a year and a half old and a lot has happened between then and now. For the Darksiderz set I ended up outside to cool off and to mingle. I met a bad ass mother who brought her son and his friend to the show, and spent a lot of time hanging with them and talking. But I was definitely present for Davey Suicide, who put on another fantastic show, and the liquor seemed to loosen him up and caused him to be much more friendly to me than the first time I met him (granted, I also think the fact that I already knew who he was at the second show made him warm up to me more, since I had no clue who he was the first time I met him).

Davey Suicide

And so, what more can I say? The night ended with Will and then Combichrist. And I’ve certainly gone on a bit about both of them already. While I can sing praises all day (clearly), in the end, you really shouldn’t just take my word for it. Keep an eye on tour dates for these guys! Go to your nearest show! Experience the magic for yourself! Because at the end of the day, it’s one thing to read reviews and watch concert footage online or listen to a band’s album, but it’s hard to regret making memories seeing your favorite bands in person.

I think now would be as good a time as any to relay to you, dear readers, the tale of my adventures going to William Francis concerts. I’ve seen Will several times, and so I’m gonna have to break this down into multiple posts. But I doubt any of you really give two shits. Is anyone actually reading this??

A lot of you are probably asking, “Who the fuck is William Francis?” But you probably already know and just didn’t realize. I myself had always known about Aiden, and watched the music videos and heard the albums. But I didn’t really know who the man behind the music was, because that kind of stuff never actually interested me. All I’ve ever really cared about is the music itself, and occasionally the story behind it.

I honestly can’t tell you when I first heard about William Control, or how I heard about him. But from the first song I heard, Razor’s Edge, I was hooked. After recognizing the face and doing a little digging, I realized I had found out what happened to “the Aiden guy”. And I was far from disappointed.

I devoured Will’s albums under the moniker William Control. I had every song on repeat almost constantly. I excitedly found out about a book that was going to be published. And eventually tour dates were brought to my attention.

One of the greatest things about when Will tours is that his tickets are well priced. They are not the outrageous $400 general admission pit tickets I had to walk away from when I tried to see Panic! At The Disco. No, Will’s tickets are fairly priced, and the venues he goes to are small local venues, where you really get personal with all the bands. Though the sound systems are not always the greatest, the experience has always been top notch for me.

The first time I saw Will was in Indianapolis. He had gathered together Davey Suicide, Fearless Vampire Killers, and The Relapse Symphony. Having to drive several hours to get there and not giving myself enough time, I happened to miss the VIP Meet and Greet. But fate was smiling on me that night, because the guys were all super sweet and invited me to come in and wait with the bands for the doors to open even though Will had already left to do God only knew what. So I mainly stuck around with Ian, who I only knew as the merch guy and then later saw was also the man behind the keyboard. They told me that when Will got back, they would bring me back to meet him before he went onstage.

Every single band was amazing. It was a high energy show that couldn’t disappoint even if it had wanted to. And towards the end of Davey Suicide’s set, they came and brought me back to the dressing room. The first thing that caught my attention was Will’s demeanor. This man is genuinely sweet. He was very gracious, and sitting and talking with him and the other guys was like sitting and talking with good friends. He was kind enough to sign my poster and the copy of his book that I had purchased, and after the show he came out and met with everyone at the merch table.

I got home late, flying high on the adrenaline of the first show I had ever gone to by myself and just the feel good vibes the whole experience had given me. If you’ve never gone to a concert by yourself, I REALLY have to suggest that you do it at least once. I mean, provided you don’t have crippling social anxiety. Then you’re probably already getting the sweats just thinking about it. And in that case, ignore my suggestion. But, if you’re brave enough, it is a totally different experience than going with friends to a show. There’s a little more freedom when you’re not tethered to someone, trying to make sure one of you doesn’t get too far lost from the other. And it opens up the chance for more adventures. It’s no fun going out for pizza at a 24 hour pizza joint in a city you’re visiting for the first time with newfound concert buddies when the friend you brought with you to the show is bitching and acting like an ass because they just wanna go back to the motel and sleep.

I also got home exhausted, and passed out not long after my head hit the pillow. And by some magical happenstance, I awoke early. Don’t ask me how, probably some more of that fate that was still smiling at me from the night before. Upon waking, I was scrolling through Facebook on my phone half-asleep. That was when I saw it… a posting of a show announcement… St. Louis, Missouri. Davey Suicide and William Control opening for Emilie Autumn. We haven’t talked about the sick obsession I had with Emilie Autumn before, but I’m gonna tell you guys right now, seeing her was my DREAM. I had never thought it would be possible, but THE POSSIBILITY WAS STARING ME IN THE FACE, DARING ME TO GRAB IT. And I did. I packed up a bag and woke my mom up just to tell her goodbye. I also almost ran out of money on the trip and had to have my mother call me in a pizza order once I got to the cheap motel room I’d managed to acquire.

The show wasn’t exactly in Missouri. It was just across the river at a little bar. I’m not gonna go into too much detail about the show now, but I will forever be grateful to Will for unknowingly fulfilling my dreams, because without seeing that flier picture he posted, I never would have been able to see Emilie Autumn (for the first time and currently only time, but I refuse to let it be the last time).

I’m gonna stop our story here. we’ll pick up with the next couple of shows next time.